Reading Eagle: Holly Herman |
Gene and Sheila A. Dugan are working to keep their restaurant, Grumpy's Handcarved Sandwiches, 137 E. High St., Pottstown, open for lunch while Gene recovers from surgeries. Sheila Dugan is leaving the borough main street manager job to work full-time in the restaurant.

Pottstown's main street manager steps down from post, steps up to run Grumpy's Sandwiches

She's spending more time with business she owns with husband, who is battling illness.

Help for Gene

What: Friends of Gene and Sheila Dugan, owners of Grumpy's Handcarved Sandwiches, 137 E. High St., Pottstown, set up Team Grumpy Pottstown, a GoFundMe drive, to help Gene's family defray medical costs for pancreatitis, gallbladder and abdominal surgeries.

Why: In November, Gene suffered a severe case of pancreatitis, and underwent several surgeries on his pancreas and gallbladder in Phoenixville Hospital. He will have abdominal surgery in May. As a result, the restaurant has cut back its hours to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Nothing was too much for Sheila A. Dugan when it came to her beloved Pottstown community.

The 56-year-old mother of four worked more than 60 hours a week for more than five years as the main street manager for Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority, also known as PDIDA, a nonprofit devoted to revitalizing the industrial borough.

Pottstown Hometown Holidays, Small Business Saturday and the Pottstown Farm & Artisan Regional Market are just a few of the fun activities Sheila organized.

Sheila was the one who organized holiday decorations. She got people to donate decorations after a thief stole decorations from a storage shed several years ago.

In November, everything changed after her husband, Gene, 58, suffered severe pancreatitis, and underwent several surgeries on his pancreas and gallbladder in Phoenixville Hospital.

Bills began mounting and Gene was unable to run his popular restaurant, Grumpy's Handcarved Sandwiches, 137 E. High St.

The restaurant closed for two weeks, and then reopened in the middle of December for lunch only.

To help keep her family afloat, Dugan resigned from her post as main street manager to work in the restaurant.

“Bills are coming in and we have to pay for them,” Sheila said Thursday as she was setting up for lunch. “It takes a lot to run a small business. It wasn't an easy decision to resign, but I have to do it to be here for my husband.”

Many helping hands

Sheila said friends have volunteered to work the cash register and perform other duties to keep the restaurant open.

Some customers who frequent the restaurant, Debbie Buckley and Thomas Coyle, set up Team Grumpy Pottstown, a GoFundMe campaign, to help the Dugan family pay for Gene's medical expenses.

So far, more than $6,000 has been raised. The group's initial goal is to raise $15,000.

“Everyone knows Gene Dugan from being part of the town and going to different events,” said Buckley, who works with Dugan on the Pottstown Farm & Artisan Regional Market, an outdoor farmer's market Thursday nights. “The community has come together to help.”

Coyle, who lives next door to the restaurant, said he knows the family well.

The Dugans said they are grateful to the community for providing support. Sheila said her children — Virginia-Lee, 23; Torry, 21; Shane, 20; Reilly, 19; and Shyloh, 12 — are also very supportive.

PDIDA, meanwhile, is undergoing change as well.

Burke Meyers, chairman of the PDIDA board, said the nonprofit is undergoing a change in focus to serve as a marketing agent for events rather than hosting events.

No one has been named to Sheila Dugan's post, and it was unclear if there would be an appointment.

Meyers said that PDIDA plans to relocate its office from 238 E. High St. to Charlotte Street.

“We will promote events,” he said. “Our primary goal is to serve as a liaison between businesses and the borough.”

Contact Holly Herman: 610-371-5029 or hherman@readingeagle.com.

Help for Gene

What: Friends of Gene and Sheila Dugan, owners of Grumpy's Handcarved Sandwiches, 137 E. High St., Pottstown, set up Team Grumpy Pottstown, a GoFundMe drive, to help Gene's family defray medical costs for pancreatitis, gallbladder and abdominal surgeries.

Why: In November, Gene suffered a severe case of pancreatitis, and underwent several surgeries on his pancreas and gallbladder in Phoenixville Hospital. He will have abdominal surgery in May. As a result, the restaurant has cut back its hours to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.